It’s far from a foregone conclusion that David Moyes will be leaving West Ham this season, but given how poor the Hammers have been domestically, it wouldn’t be a surprise for the board to try something a little different in 2023/24.
The east Londoners have endured a tough period throughout the current campaign, with the so-called ‘West Ham way’ largely not in evidence this season.
Moyes has tended to opt for a more pragmatic and defensive style, rather than the free-flowing and passing game that those who pay their hard-earned at the London Stadium are used to.
One manager who has impressed this season with limited resources is Will Still, current first-team chief at French side Reims, and a confirmed Hammers fan.
‘Will Still at some point in the future will be considered for a Premier League role, but I think English top-flight clubs would probably want to see a bit more experience from him before considering him for a position,’ senior journalist, Jonathan Johnson, wrote in his exclusive CaughtOffside Substack.
‘The West Ham link is quite tempting as far as far as the Hammers supporter is concerned, however, he’s spoken recently about his future and he expects to be with Reims heading into next season.
‘They’re already working on their plans for what will happen over the summer, and I think the fact that Reims’ form has tailed off a little bit has put them in a more realistic position than they were in a couple of weeks ago. That run of form was fantastic and put him on the map.’
Still has garnered much attention predominantly because he’s one of the youngest managers in the game at just 30 years of age.
Though they’ve gone off the boil of late, with WhoScored noting Reims have won just one of their last six games after previously only losing two in their previous 23 games in all competitions, Still clearly has what it takes to get the best out of his team.
Johnson, however, believes that it won’t be this summer when Still makes his move.
‘It’s a big couple of months for Still. He’s going to complete his final coaching badge and that will end all of the stories attached to the fact that Reims have been paying fines up until he had that fixed date for his final exam,’ he continued.
‘I think another season in Ligue 1 will confirm whether or not Still is one of those profiles that Premier League clubs are looking at. Should Reims start next season in similar form to what we’ve seen from them over the last couple of months, then he could be a target for a Premier League club that might not have made the best start to the season. Perhaps around the December/January mark.’
It shouldn’t also be forgotten that the country of his birth could well come calling, with the Belgian league representing a potential alternative.
‘When people talk about him they tend to overlook the fact that he’s as much Belgian as he is English and I think some of the top Jupiler Pro League Belgian clubs, especially as they’re more competitive in Europe now, could be a potential destination for him too,’ Johnson added.